To Save My Lost Soul
by Rikki Writinglover
Summary: AU- Tony is abused by his father, and is resigned to it. Then his life changes when he runs into a group of beat up runaways. He offers them his help and a place to stay, and ends up their friend. But once they discover what Tony's life is really like, they are determined not to let him stay in his father's cruel mercy. This is how Tony Stark becomes a teenage runaway. Please Read.
1. Chapter 1

Tony sighed as he slipped out the back door of the mansion into the freezing night air. His father was in one of his moods again, and it was safest for the teen to keep as much distance as possible between them when this happened.

Tony's eyes wondered up to the sky and he stared at the stars, his thoughts wondering to his mother. She had died when he was 9, and while his father hadn't liked him much before then, after, he hated him. Tony was 16 now, and he'd learned to live with it. Jarvis had loved Tony, so had Maria though she never had the time to show it, but they were both killed in a car wreck picking him up from school. So since then, he's learned not to expect any kind of affection from anyone.

A few years ago he dreamt of going away and escaping his father, but then reality set in and he realized that with his destiny of inheriting Stark Industries, his father wouldn't ever let him get away. Even when he became an adult, his father would always be hanging over his head.

He was trapped.

Tony took a shuddering breath and watched the cold puff of air float away; wondering what would happen if he just stayed out here and froze to death. It was at least -15 out here, and if he hid well enough it would be awhile before anyone found him, Howard certainly wouldn't come looking for a while….

Suddenly Tony froze when he heard a noise from behind him, and slowly turned around to see something completely unexpected.

It was a group of beat up looking teens. The one in front, an older looking kid with a torn up blue T-shirt, short shaggy blond hair and big blue eyes was staring at him intently. With one arm the kid was supporting a scrappier looking boy, with brownish hair, weary brown eyes and a bloodstained purple T-shirt. On their right was a stunning older girl, Tony guessed one of the oldest of the group, a young woman with long flowing red hair, icy blue eyes and decked all in black. Behind her, looking at Tony over her shoulder was an obviously younger kid, curly brown hair and curious green eyes with a green and gray long sweater that had more holes than fabric. Then finally Tony noticed the two figures in the background of the group, a truly giant kid with the stature of a grown man and long flowing blonde hair, and a younger scrawnier kid with long black hair and spiteful green eyes that screamed he was just as dangerous as the older one, who Tony assumed was his brother.

It took him a minute to click the pieces in place, but when he did he actually raised an impressed eyebrow. "You guys are that group from the news right? The runaway kids everyone has been looking for?" The blonde one in front that Tony guesses is the leader glares hard at him, changing his posture in to a threatening one.

"You try and call the police, we will kill you." The kid growls and Tony is impressed. This guy struck him as kind of a Boy Scout type. Despite the threat though, Tony takes another look at the beat up band of misfits and stares right into the leaders eyes.

"I wouldn't tell the police anyway, you guys want to stay away from your families, who am I to judge? But it doesn't look like any of you are up to much killing right now anyway. You all look pretty beat up."

And only after he says it does Tony truly see how beat up they all look. They're hungry, he can tell, tired and cold. If they stay outside tonight, there's a good chance they'll be dead by morning, and he knows he can't let that happen. By all rights he should, he has way too many problems on his shoulders to for him to be even thinking about sticking his neck out for these strangers, but he knows he will. Because somewhere in his heart he knows he just can't let them die, or even just get sick tonight, no matter what his father will do to him if he finds out.

The leader kid looks like he's about to threaten him again when Tony takes a step towards him, hand extended. "I'm Tony. I can help you, if you'll let me." The kid stares at Tony with doubtful, hard eyes. "And why should I trust you?" He hisses, and Tony just looks pointedly at the bleeding brunette in the guy's arms before looking back into the leader's eyes. "Because you really don't have a lot of options do you?" The kid stares at Tony for a moment and sighs, defeated, reaching out to take Tony's hand.

"I'm Steve. Steve Rogers."

….

Tony sneaks the group in the backway through his house, and he can hear their muffled gasps of awe at the mansion's grandeur, and he winces as he leads them all into his bedroom. Well, more like apartment. He has quite a few rooms, Howard doesn't really want to have to see him, and if Tony has a stocked kitchen and a bathroom in his suite, he doesn't really have to. But anyways, if any of these kids steal anything he can't cover up, he's in for a real beating.

He closes the door behind him and turns, coming face to face with the redhead girl glaring at him. "You're Tony Stark. I've seen you on the news a few times before, but I wasn't sure it was you until now."

He just shrugs; they were bound to figure out who he was pretty soon anyway. "Yeah, that's me. Since you're all staying in my room tonight, think I could get some names?" The redhead studies him for a moment longer before nodding. "I'm Natasha, you already met Steve, the one he's holding is Clint, the big blonde one is Thor, the evil looking black haired one is Loki, and the one hiding in the corner is Bruce." She moves quickly back to Steve's side to help settle Clint down on the bed and Tony heads for the bathroom, grabbing his overly stocked first aid kit from the sink and rushing back to the bed.

Steve has already pulled off Clint's shirt, and Tony can see the poor guy has a nasty gash above his hip, and then a smaller one a little below that, both of which were bleeding profoundly. He moves to sit next to the kid and get a better look at his injury when a big hand grabbing his arm effectively stops him. He turns to see the leader, Steve, glaring at him questioningly.

"That cut is bad, he needs stitches, and I know how to do that. Do you want me to help your friend or not?" Steve bites his lip and nods, releasing Tony's arm. Tony turns back to Clint and starts to disinfect the wound, quickly sparing a glance at the rest of the group.

"This will probably take me a while; it's pretty good he passed out. Feel free to get comfortable, my dad never comes in here. You guys can stay as long as you need, but Clint here will have to stay put at least a few days so this can heal enough for him to travel. If any of the rest of you is hurt, you need to let me know now. I'll just be pissed if you wait." Tony says without getting distracted from his work. Even though a few stiches aren't really a big deal for him, he's done this thousands of times before, he doesn't want to hurt this kid so he tries to focus.

If he's gonna be stupid enough to help these kids, he's damn well gonna do it right.


	2. Chapter 2

"So you're Tony Stark?" Clint says as Tony treats the wound he discovered on the guy's back. Clint had woken up a little while after the stiches and was pretty surprised to find THE Tony Stark cleaning his cuts, but had apparently gotten over it since he's become quite chatty since then.

"The one and only." Tony huffs distracted as he cleans a particularly nasty cut on Clint's lower back. "What of it?" He questions, and wonders if they're gonna try and get him to fork over money or something. He would give them some if asked; honestly he is never allowed to leave the house anyway, what is he supposed to do with the money?

"Nothing really dude. I'm just curious is all, rich genius kid like you? Why do you give a crap about some rift raff on the streets? How the hell do you even know how to do this stuff? Don't you have like a houseful of nannies to do the first aid stuff?" Clint rambles on, his eyes surveying the room they're in, surprised it's actually quite bear, and he doesn't notice Tony's flinch.

"I don't know actually. Been asking myself that question since I brought you in, and no we don't have servants. Well I don't, my dad does but they stay on his side of the house."

Clint doesn't question the guy, but he shoots a meaningful look at Steve who nods in response. Clint doesn't know what Tony wants, but he knows there's something going on, this house just gives him a weird vibe.

"Stark, can I talk to you for a minute?" Steve says in a relatively civil tone. Tony freezes for a moment then nods, standing up and following Steve into the next room. Once he closes the door, he glares at Steve intensely. "Don't call me Stark again. It's Tony. I'm just Tony." his voice is practically a growl, and Steve raises an eyebrow but doesn't comment.

"Fine, Tony. Look I know it isn't money you want; you obviously have plenty of that. So just come out with it, you let us stay here, what's the catch?" Steve says cautiously, crossing his arms and leaning back against the wall. Tony watches him for a moment and wonders vaguely "_Do I want something?_ He pauses to think, eyeing the empty room around him. It seemed the house itself was always so cold and impersonal. Empty. Like Tony. He thinks back to first seeing the group, tired, and worried for each other. Obviously a family, with the way Steve was so protective.

"No Steve, there's nothing I want that you could give me. But I can help you, so why not? All I want you to do is…" He takes a deep breath and avoids Steve's eyes, so he cannot see Tony's surge of fear when he says it. "Don't let my father see you. Please, do everything in your power not to let my father see you. But, if he does….. For your own sakes, don't tell him the truth. Says you're friends of mine and I said it was okay to come over. Then once he's not looking at you, get the hell out before he can recognize you."

Tony turns his eyes back to Steve's at that, and throws up the smile he uses to deal with the press. "Other than that I don't need a thing from you. You guys can have that room, this is the one Dad always looks for me in anyway if he ever needs to find me. There's a stocked kitchen he never sets foot in through the red door, and there's a door in there to the bathroom, use as much hot water as you like. There are plenty of clothes in the closet, some are mine, they should fit Clint, Bruce, and Loki, but there are some other's in there from Rhodey that should fit you and Thor. There are also some clothes Pepper left over here Natasha can use if she wants. You guys will probably have to stay a few days at least to let Clint heal and cold front pass, but after that you're free to take as many clothes and food as you need and leave, no strings attached. Anything else?" Tony says nonchalantly, trying to hide the choke in his voice at mentioning Rhodey and Pepper. His dad had stopped allowing him to see them a long time ago. Last he heard Pepper had gotten accepted to some high class boarding school, and Rhodey was joining the military.

Steve, poor soul, looks completely overwhelmed, but impressively not any less suspicious. "Um just. There's another one of us, my friend Bucky. He's outside. He always stays on the rooftops so he can… take care of any trouble from above. He stays with us." Steve says this almost like a challenge, and Tony can see that he's trying to scare him, maybe see if Tony's goodwill stretches. Well, gonna have to do a whole lot better than that pal.

Tony just grins. "You guys have a sniper? Cool. By all means, have him join the party." He comments cheerfully, and plops down on the bed, slipping his shoes off and starting to get ready to crash for the night. He decides he's just going to ignore Steve now and hope he leaves. He hears the bigger man open the door, but then he stops and stares at Tony for a minute, and then says quietly, and with no bite to his words, "You know Sta- Tony, for genius, you obviously are really, really stupid, or completely lack self-preservation skills."

Tony chuckles bitterly and shakes his head. "Yeah, my friends use to say the same thing."

….

Steve closes the door behind him as he steps out of the room where Tony's sleeping, and immediately feels Natasha and Bucky's presence beside him. "So, what happened?" Natasha asks trying to sound uninterested, but he knows her well enough to hear the worry concealed in her voice. He stars to ask how Bucky even got in but decides it doesn't matter, honestly Steve's just glad he doesn't have to go get him.

"He's… strange. He offered us food and clothes and said he was cool that we'd probably need to stay here awhile. He _said_ he doesn't… want anything from us. Just not to get caught by his dad and if we do to just say we're his friends and then get out. He didn't even care that Bucky came in, even after I implied his…skills."

Bucky snorts and shoots a look at Tony's door. "This guy is obviously full of shit Steve. You know that, I mean really, house seven _wanted strangers_ out of the goodness of his _heart?_ Do you really buy that? He has an angle, he has to." Natasha nods her agreement and Steve just sighs, glancing over at Clint who is already asleep again, bandages covering most of his torso.

"Well there isn't a lot we can do is there Bucky? Just keep an eye on him… like it or not, for the time being we're living with the guy. Figure out his angle." Steve says tiredly and Natasha narrows her eyes suspiciously at him. "Steve you aren't buying this, are you?" Steve just shrugs. "I wouldn't bet any of our lives on it of course not, that's why I want you two to find out for sure… But if I had to place a bet on it now; I would say he's genuine. Maybe a genuine moron, but I think he's at least an honest one." He admits ruefully and Natasha nods slowly. She is much less trusting than Steve, but she never disregards his instinct about someone. His instincts are one of the reasons he's their leader.

"Well, only time will tell." Bucky says rather irritably, and goes to take his seat for first watch. Steve takes one more glance back at the door and then goes to lie down for some much needed sleep. God he hopes he's right about Tony.

For everyone's sake.


	3. Chapter 3

Steve yawns and sits up in his makeshift bed on the floor, blearily taking in his surroundings. He looks around and can't repress a smile when he looks at his family sleeping peacefully for the first time in months.

Bruce is pretty close to Steve, curled up into a ball to make himself as tiny as possible, with Bucky next to him in a protective position. Bruce is the youngest and newest of their little group, but he's definitely been on the run for a long time. Natasha and Bucky found him stealing food to survive a year or so back, and brought him home with them. Bruce tends to stay close to them, but he likes Steve too, so sometimes he'll let himself get comfortable around him as well. They all know Bruce's story, his parents were killed when he was very young and he was bounced around from crappy foster homes for years before Bruce got fed up and left. He was on his own for a very long time before they found him, but he doesn't really like to talk about it much.

Steve eyes wonder to Bucky, and he smiles at his longtime friend. He and Buck were the first, so to speak, of their little group. They had grown up childhood friends, but when Steve's mother died of cancer, he told Bucky he refused to be dumped in an orphanage. Steve wasn't stupid, he was very sickly and small back then, and he probably would have died in a home like that. So Bucky, being overprotective as always came with him.

They were fine on their own for a while, until they ran into a group of men who kidnapped Bucky. Steve looked for his friend for a long time, hitting his growth spirt on the way, and when he finally found Bucky, held captive by a sick cult, his friend had changed. He wasn't the carefree, charming, kid he'd been before. No, after that Bucky was a hardened man and this new Bucky came with Natasha in tow. Steve wasn't sure about her at first, nor her him. They never really told him what went down in there, all he knows is that Natasha was there a lot longer than Bucky, and that they both came out with a similar skill set. He didn't even think Natasha would stay with them; she seemed always ready to take off. Bucky said it was just her being cautious, but Steve always felt like she was holding back because of him. She had always trusted Bucky, but Steve always felt like he was driving her away.

Then they found Clint.

They had been hired, what with Steve's size and his friend's skills, to kill the ringmaster. Even though the client had told Steve that the circus was corrupt and stealing money, using blackmail to force his assets to stay, Steve didn't want to kill. He just didn't have much of a choice, they were starving, and it was the only way to eat.

But on their way out, they found Clint being strangled by who they later discovered was his brother.

Without thinking Natasha was on the attacker, knocking him out and nearly slitting his throat when Clint whispered hoarsely, "Please… no. Plea-(Cough) D-Don't kill him."

Natasha had frozen and looked at the kid, scared, having dropped his bow when his brother attacked him, and looked Steve straight in the eye. "We need him. He needs to be one of us." And that was that. To this day, he's not sure why. He knows Natasha has a sixth sense about this kind of thing, but back then they certainly didn't trust each other, so he'll never know why he took her word on it. Clint and Natasha became inseparable, and his archery and acrobatic skills came in handy as they slowly began taking jobs from victims to get revenge on criminals.

That's how they met Thor and Loki.

Steve's eyes wonder to the other side of the room, where Thor and Loki are curled up together, still distancing themselves from everyone else. They were the sons of a crime lord who called himself Odin. He had named his kids after the mythological gods, and then proceeded to force his children to become meth addicts. This way, he could make them into the perfect henchmen and control their supply should they disobey, and he took great pleasure in punishing his sons with the painful withdraw.

Steve very nearly killed Odin, even though he wasn't the target, but Thor and Loki stopped him. Natasha took one look at the duo disdainfully glaring at their hated father, and caught Steve's eyes. "We need them." And yet again, Steve didn't argue. She of course explained anyway, just like she had with Clint, detailing the reasons why they would be valuable and why they should help them get away from their father. But honestly, even if he'd never say it out loud, those first three words were all he needed to hear. He trusted Natasha's judgment, though she really didn't need to know how much. He'd trusted her with Bruce the time after, and every time she'd been correct. It was good enough for him.

As he thinks of her, Steve's eyes begin searching for his second, and he smiles softly when he finds her. She's already awake, of course, early morning is her watch and Natasha never falls asleep on watch. Still, she's leaning on the headboard of the bed, Clint's head laying in her lap as she strokes his hair softly, her eyes staring in to nothing as she's obviously deep in thought.

"What has you so intrigued Tasha?" He says softly, so not to wake the others. Her eyes meet his and she gives him a small smile seeing he's awake. "Good Morning опекун, seems you slept well." Steve smiles fondly at the nickname. (Bucky _swears_ it is an endearment, not an insult, but he's never actually been able to look it up.)

"I did, but you are avoiding my question." He can't help the pride that shows on his face at catching one of her aversion tactics, and Natasha just rolls her eyes at his childlike happiness.

"Yes. I was just thinking Steven. Tony, he's wealthy beyond belief because of his father, and his own genius has earned him quite a bit of fame as well. Yet, this room that is obviously his bedroom is bare. No expensive electronics or pictures of his millions of friends or girlfriends, no awards, nothing. There is nothing personal to him in here whatsoever, and it makes me uncomfortable. What kind of billionaire doesn't fill his room with expensive toys? It doesn't fit." Her voice is lower and thoughtful, not the dark suspicious tone he was expecting. It sounds like Tony has sparked Natasha's interest.

"Maybe he's just not into that kind of thing?" Steve tries, and Natasha fixes him with an expression that calls him an idiot without even trying.

"Doesn't like to have belongings? Steve, we're all as messed up as can be, and we all still have possessions. Everyone has belongings Steve, everyone except prisoners and slaves. He doesn't even have family pictures in here, no self-portraits? It's eerie, and I think it's important in figuring this guy out." Natasha says confidently, and Steve just shakes his head as he stands up. If Natasha thinks they need to figure Tony out to know if he's safe, he'll take her word for it.

"Alright but don't go overboard alright Tash? As far as we know he's being really kind for no reason, so we aren't going to repay him by meddling into his life." He says in a stern tone that Clint teases him for being motherly.

Natasha just smiles wickedly; a mischievous glint in her eyes and salutes him with more attitude than he thought a salute could have.

"Aye, Aye, Captain." She chuckles darkly, and all Steve can think is, "We're all screwed."

**Sorry this chapter isn't as good, I just needed to get some backstory in there. The nickname Natasha calls Steve means Guardian.**


	4. Chapter 4

Bucky respects Steve. He does, he really does. The big goofball is like his brother, and he trusts him with his life, and the life of everyone he loves.

So he really, really, should not be sneaking behind his back and snooping in the room Stark slept in last night. Especially while their "gracious" host is in the shower Steve makes breakfast. It's a bad idea that Steve will be extremely pissed at him for if he ever finds out.

He's doing it anyway.

He works his way around the room quickly, looking in drawers to find them all disturbingly empty. He knew Natasha was creeped out by lack of personal belongings in the main bedroom, but Bucky just assumed there would be some in here. Now that he's looking, and finding nothing, he's starting to become uneasy as well. The room is just…..empty. The colors are red and gold, just like the bedroom they were in, but there are no real pictures on the wall, just the typical ugly paintings of vases and crap you see in hotel rooms. Hell, both bedrooms were decorated like very expensive hotel rooms. It was unnerving. Now they never stayed in one place to long, but while they were staying somewhere, they always made it feel like…..home.

Bucky shakes his head as he carefully lifts up the pillows to see if anything is hidden under it, takes a cursory look at the bookcase to see nothing but textbooks and classics he just can't picture a guy like Tony Stark reading. Then he drops to the floor and looks under the bed, finding it empty. Bucky sighs and runs his hand under the bed, just to make sure nothing is hiding in the shadows when he runs his fingers over a loose board, and feels a catch.

Grinning stupidly, he crawls a little further under the bed, lifting the board up and pulling out a small wooden box from inside the cubby hole. He scoots out from under the bed, and opens the box.

The first thing he sees is a picture of a child looking Tony, smiling at the camera, one arm around a beautiful redheaded girl kissing him on the cheek and the other around a taller black boy making a face at the camera. Bucky raises an eyebrow at that and flips the picture over to read the caption.

**_Pepper, Tony, and Rhodey. _**

No date or location, just names. Bucky notes that for later and sits the picture aside carefully so he can put it back correctly. Next is an open envelope, the address blotted out. Bucky carefully pulls the paper out of it and unfolds it, looking closely at the elegant writing underneath it.

_Dear Tony,_

_Even though I don't want to, I will do as you ask and make this my last letter. Before I stop writing, though don't think I'll stop keeping tabs, I have some things to tell you. _

_First, I love you. I know we couldn't make a relationship work, though why we even tried with the situation I'm not sure. But I still love you Tony, I always will. I will not forget you, or give up trying to find a way to help you, no matter what your father does. He cannot lock you away forever Tony, and I will find a way to get you out, one of us will. Your father's restraining order and security I can't get around yet or Rhodey would be barging in there right away to take y away from that place. He's planning on joining the military. I think it's because of you. He has to save someone from a bad guy he can fight, but neither of us will ever stop feeling like we failed to save you._

_I wish you had told us sooner, before it was too late and he knew. We're so sorry we didn't notice before Tony, we had to have blind to have missed it. After your mom died, nothing was the same; we thought it was about that. We didn't expect…. Didn't even imagine. I'm sorry for that, for buying into the mask. I should have known better, we both should have._

_You are a kind, loving, brilliant, amazing person and I'm sorry I didn't say it more. Don't you buy into what he tells you and don't you dare lose hope. We will find a way to get to you, if you don't figure it out first. _

_It breaks my heart to write this, this goodbye, even if I refuse to let it be forever. I cry for you every night Tony, and I miss you so much it's hard to breath sometimes. I won't stop fighting for you Tony, so don't you stop fighting him either. He can't get away with this, we won't let him. Someone will listen and when they do Howard Stark is going to a hell I have created for him._

_Rhodey says he's sorry that he didn't have your back like he said he would, and that he can't protect you now. He says everyone he went to was paid off by your dad quickly, and it was the same for me. He has us beat now Tony, but we're only going to get better and he's only going to get sloppier. There's still good people out there, and we'll find them. We'll go to the ends of the Earth if we have to Tony. _

_We love you Tony. Please remember this. _

_If you get out, I will be at Ms. Lila's Boarding School for Accomplished Young Women, in Alexandria PA. Even if I'm not there, I'll make sure I leave a way for you to find me. You better find me. _

_So until then, I'll keep missing you. Goodbye Tony. _

_Until we meet again,_

_Pepper_

Bucky reads over the letter several times before quickly putting the letter and the picture back into the box exactly as he found it and tucking it back into the cubby, closing the board and sneaking out of the room.

Now he's finding some puzzle pieces.

**Don't think I added it but in this AU the age to be a legal adult is 20. **


	5. Chapter 5

Tony yawns as he walks into the kitchen and then freezes when he sees the group all gathered around, now staring at him.

"Oh, um," He stutters. "Sorry I can just…" He makes a move for the door but the girl he remembers as Natasha catches his arm. "Hey, no need for that Stark. Sit, tell us all about your fascinating life as a billionaire." Her expression is unreadable and he stares at her for a moment before nodding.

"Okay but there's not much to tell. I kinda just work in my lab all day."

Bruce's eyes light up at that and he sits up quickly, showing more life than Tony has seen in him since they arrived. "Really, you have a lab? That's awesome!" Tony smiles at his enthusiasm and raises an eyebrow, grabbing an empty seat next to Steve. "Are you into science?" Before Bruce can reply, Thor pats him hard on the back and beams at him. "Our friend Bruce is a genius! You could find great use in his intelligence!" Bruce blushes and looks down stammering. "Uh, uh yeah well technically I am Thor but I have no schooling and I'm nowhere near Mr. Stark's level, I wouldn't be of any help."

Steve opens his mouth to jump in and stop Bruce's self-criticism, but to his surprise Tony beats him to the punch. "Nonsense! A genius is a genius Brucey, own it. You can come down there with me after breakfast and I'll show you what I'm working on. Just don't call me Mr. Stark. I'm just Tony you guys, quit it with the Stark stuff." His voice sounds surprisingly upbeat. If they weren't all use to hearing it with each other, none of them would have caught the heavily veiled tension in that last comment.

"Why? Don't like living up to the family name?" Clint mumbles through a mouthful of pancakes, apparently choosing to pretend he's completely oblivious to Tony's unease. Steve glares hard at him and he's surprised to see Bucky glaring at the archer as well. He'll have to remember to ask him what that's about. Tony freezes, looking for an answer then suddenly pushes away from the table and heads for the door.

"On second thought Brucey, I'm not so hungry; you ready to head down there now?" Tony says flippantly, his tone giving away nothing as he struts out the door. Bruce bite his lip and looks at his empty plate and then Steve, who just nods, smiling to let the younger man know he'd take care of it.

"Yeah Tony I'm coming!" Bruce disappears though the door behind Tony and everyone turns to glare at Clint, still happily munching on his food.

"What?" He says mouth still half full. Natasha just sighs then walks up behind him and hits him upside the head. "дебил!" She says angrily, her accent becoming thicker. Clint raises his hands in surrender. "Hey! I'm sorry okay? I heard the weirdness, but I didn't know he was going to flip okay?!" He rubs his head dramatically, and Natasha just rolls her eyes, sitting down in the seat that Tony just vacated.

"You could open your eyes for a moment Clint, he reacted the same way you do when you talk about your brother!" Natasha snaps and then regrets it when Clint's eyes cloud over. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that." Clint just waves her apology away. "No, you're right Tasha. That wasn't cool of me. I know how I would have reacted had it been reversed. "

Bucky clears his throat and everyone's eyes turn to him. "I uh, found something out about St-Tony. I kinda snuck into his room today, and I found this letter from one of his friends. From what I gathered, she and another one of his friends found out a secret to do with Tony and his father, so his father sent them away. He got restraining orders against them and keeps Tony trapped here and won't let them contact him. They've apparently tried to get to Tony and tell people whatever they found out, but his father just pays everyone off. I think something really bad is going on here, and I want to know what's up."

Steve opens his mouth, first to reprimand Bucky, and then to ask what else the letter said when they hear a scream.

"_TONY! YOU WORTHLESS PIECE OF SHIT! WHERE ARE YOU?! YOU THINK YOU CAN HIDE FROM ME?!" _The voice slurs.

Steve can tell that Mr. Stark is on the other side of the house still, but he's obviously drunk and angry.

"I'll go grab Bruce and warn Tony." Steve says heading for the door, but Natasha beats him there. "No Steve," She commands. "I'm faster and quieter, get everyone else hidden, Tony said not to let him know we're here." Then she's gone, and as much as he'd rather be going after Bruce himself, he knows she's right.

"Everyone, shove yourselves in closets now. We don't know where he'll look. "

…

"Bruce!" Natasha says sweeping into Tony's lab. She had found it when she was scoping the place out, but she didn't think she would have to come down here. Bruce's head pops up from the desk where he and Tony are looking over at some piece of machinery. Even in the heat of the moment it takes all her will not to smile at the big goofy goggles Bruce is wearing, looking more like a kid then she's ever seen him. "Natasha what's wrong?" Bruce asks and she looks over at Tony, who is standing tensely next to Bruce. They lock eyes and Tony's eyes widen in recognition.

"Bruce, buddy you need to go. Now." Bruce opens his mouth to say something but before Howard comes staggering down the stairs, and Tony quickly pushes Bruce under the table before his father can see him, and Natasha slips under with him, wrapping an arm around Bruce. But she can see Tony and his father through the crack, so she instinctively moves Bruce out of the line of sight.

Howard walks towards Tony slowly, a bottle sloshing in his hand.

"Your little bitch tried to find you again. Do you know how much money I'm spending paying off cops because of that whore?!" Howard snarls grabbing Tony's collar roughly. "And all because of you, you worthless piece of shit." He spits, and Tony just smirks.

"Pepper isn't a whore. You just hate that she sees you for what you are." Howard's eyes flash and he pushes Tony back and making the younger man stumble. Then he brings the bottle down on Tony's shoulder with a crash, and Tony howls in pain.

Howard punches him and sends Tony sprawling onto the floor, then kicks him hard in the chest. Tony rolls over, clutching his chest in pain and his eyes catch Natasha's, watching from under the desk. She doesn't know how, but he must see her desire to help and shakes his head no.

Natasha hears Bruce whimper and she pulls the boy close, trying to comfort him as she watches Tony. He must know Natasha could stop him, while Howard is much bigger and has strength, Natasha has taken down tougher. She's sure Tony has heard enough about her on the news to know that. But if she did, Howard would know she was there and everyone would have to make a run for it, and Clint isn't healed. Trying to leave now could kill him, even if he is doing better.

Tony's doing this for them.

"God, I can't believe I have such a pathetic loudmouth for a son. You think those two actually care about you!? They want you for your money! MY money!" Howard brings the heel of his boot down on Tony's injured shoulder and Natasha barely represses a growl. She knows she can't do anything, but just sitting here helpless is infuriating. She is, as the media had dubbed their little vigilante group, an Avenger. She was supposed to take down criminals, not watch while a sick twisted man beats down his son in front of her.

"Maybe I should just hand over the company to Obie. Then I could toss you out like the trash you are." Howard spews as he kicks his son hard in the stomach, causing Tony to curl in on himself.

"But then you'd find some way to make yourself a pain in my ass again, as you always seem to do." He growls, stomping his foot down hard on Tony's wrist, and Natasha winces at the sickening crack and horse scream from Tony. She clenches her fists and she hears Bruce whimper. She turns her head a moment and sees him looking at her, worry and anger in his too old eyes.

"_We have to do something!"_ He mouths and Natasha bites her lip and turns back to the scene, startled to see Howard pick Tony up off the ground. "All you ever do is cause trouble, why the hell do I even keep you around!?" He yells into his dazed sons face before he pushes him into a desk full of empty beakers, the glass shattering and falling all over Tony. Her breath hitches as she sees the many glass shards sticking out of his skin, and blood beginning to trail from several spots across his skin.

Tony tries to push himself to his feet and fails, Howard strolling up to him with a bitter expression on his face. "It's time I took care of this." Natasha stiffens at those words and her blood runs cold when Howard suddenly pulls out a gun. She curses herself for not noticing he was armed earlier and before she knows what she's doing, she shoots out of her hiding place.

Howard sees her from the corner of his eyes and whirls on her, his gun wobbly but still pointed at her chest.

"Who are you!? What the hell are you doing in my house!?" Natasha glares and shoots a glance at the worryingly quiet Tony. "Put the gun down. Now." She growls and Howard takes a lurching step towards her. "Ordering ME around!? Maybe I should just get rid of you too. You've already seen too much and I already made the mistake of letting one go the last time. "

Natasha curses at herself for getting into this situation, and is calculating her odds of getting that gun when suddenly Tony lurches off the floor, a glass beaker in his hand and hits his father over the head with it. Howard's eyes roll back in his head and he falls, the gun skittering towards Natasha's feet. She looks from the gun, to Tony, standing tall, his breath heaving, and blood pouring out of several cuts in his face. He looks at her for one minute longer, and then passes out.

….

Steve rushes into the lab Thor and Bucky at his side after Bruce told them Natasha needed help now.

He's surprised when he sees Tony sprawled out on the floor bleeding heavily, Natasha sitting by worried, and an unconscious man who he assumes is Tony's father a few feet away. "Get him to the room now. We have to help him." Natasha snaps coldly. Bucky and Thor just nod and move to pick up the genius carefully, mindful of his injuries. Natasha stands and avoids Steve's eyes, her expression grim.

"Tasha, what happened?!" He says, and she looks over at Howard and a disguarded gun, and it clicks in Steve's head before she says a word. "I'll, explain details later but… Steve?" Natasha says quietly, and Steve is suddenly worried.

"Yes?" He says warily, and her blue ice meet his and that dangerous fire of hers flares there. He gets goosebumps all over his skin and he knows that what comes next will change everything.

"We need him."


	6. Chapter 6

Tony's eyes flutter open to see a beautiful redhead lying beside him in his bed.

Funny, whenever he'd imagined scenarios like this there wasn't so much damn pain.

He tries to sit up, but before he can Natasha shoots up, placing a gentle yet firm hand on his chest to hold him in place. "That might be a bad idea just yet." She whispers gently and he's confused for a moment before his eyes sweep his body and he remembers his father in the lab with Bruce and Natasha.

"My father won't remember you. Don't worry; he never remembers anything he does when he's that drunk." Tony says quickly, and he doesn't fail to notice some of the tension drain out of the young woman's frame at his words. She shoots him a look, one he can't quite read, but he knows she is going to want to talk about what she saw. He just decides to let her do that and pulls one of his many first aid kits out from under his pillow and starts to mentally catalogue his injuries while Natasha works up to whatever it is she is going to say.

He can feel a patchwork of bandages across his shoulder, but he knows that he'll probably have to undress them to see if any of the cuts require stiches. He hates trying to stick up his own arms, he's probably going to have to bribe one of his father's servants into doing it for him, no questions asked. Tony just hates risking that because he never knows when one of them is going to make an attempt and nobility and try to save him. It never ends well, and he just ends up feeling guilty as his father tears apart their lives with a flick of his fingers.

"How long has this been going on Tony?" Natasha whispers and he shrugs.

"Since I was nine." She inhales sharply and continues.

"Why haven't you left?" She asks so gently, and so honestly he has to give in and look at her. Her icy blue eyes on fixated on him and filled with genuine concern, and wow it has been a long time since someone has looked at him like that.

"It-It wasn't an option." Tony stutters and Natasha just watches him, urging him on. "I promised someone I loved a very long time ago I would one day turn my father's company into something amazing. I promised that I would use its potential to help people. My father, if I left probably wouldn't look for me and leave the company in my name as long as no one could recognize me. But there isn't a way for me to do that, not on my own. Even just to get the supplies to make myself look different, I would get caught; my face is too well known. Then the press would be all over my dad for neglecting his child. It would ruin the company. So I can't." Tony explains, leaving out the fact that lately he was getting desperate enough to have been considering escaping his father in a much more permeant way.

Natasha see's it though, as he turns away to hide his face she just barely sees the emotions sweep across his face and she notes it sadly. If she can get Tony to come with them, she'll have to have him watched at all times. They don't let their own kill themselves, and she'll be damned if she leaves him here to do it, or wait around for his father to.

"So don't go alone Tony. Come with us." She says softly, reaching a hand out to stroke his hair and he jerks around to look at her, his eyes wide with shock. "W- You want me to- Why?" He gapes, and she gives him a soft smile. "You're brave, you're strong, you're a genius, and Bruce already has been practically stuck to your side. We want you with us, will you come?"

Tony freezes and for a moment, one moment, he almost says no without thinking. Tells her they're better off without him or that if her little ragtag team is suddenly developing a hero complex that this is a bad place to start. But, then he stops. Even if they get sick of him within a few days, they could get him out, maybe get him to Pepper. He misses Pepper. Still, there are a million ways this could and probably would go wrong. They could be taking him as a ransom, selling him to the highest bidder. It's dangerous and stupid and arguably the most suicidal thing he's ever considered.

"Yes."


	7. Chapter 7

A creak in the floorboards sends Bucky shooting up, knife in his hand and eyes searching franticly for threats.

Not registering any, he blinks, taking in his surroundings. Steve is dead to the world beside him; Loki and Thor are closest to them, near the bed. Natasha and Clint are curled up on top of the bed, sleeping soundly for once, and everything is quiet. It's Bruce watch, so he'll be in Tony's room, but Bucky can't resist the need to check on him anyway.

He slips out from beside Steve and tip toes to Tony's door, which is slighty ajar, tilting his head to the side so he can peak in. The lamp is on inside and Bucky flinches at the light, adjusting quickly. He glances around for Bruce and huffs in fond exasperation when he sees him dozing quietly in his chair at the billionaire's bedside, completely unaware. "So much for being on watch Bruce." He whispers to himself, and looks towards the bed, only to find it empty.

Bucky's blood runs cold, and his eyes dart to the door to the rest of the house, still completely barricaded by the bookcase and chair Steve and Thor had pushed in front of it. He sighs in relief and feels some of the tension drain out of his body. Of course it would be ridiculous that Tony's father managed to come in here and take him without any of them hearing it or Bruce waking up, but Bucky can't help but jump to the worst possible conclusion, it's what he does. His paranoid pessimism is legendary. Still, the missing genius is worrying; His asshole father beat him really badly, he really shouldn't be on his feet yet.

The sniper almost growls at the thought of Tony's father. He beat and isolated his own kid, attempted to _murder_ him, and_ would_ have if Tasha hadn't been there. _Then_ he threatened Natasha. No one screws with Natasha. If Tony hadn't begged them not to and told them Howard had to live for him to get the company, he would have ripped the man's throat out. He wouldn't have felt a shred of remorse for it either.

Bucky glances at the bathroom and sees the door open and light off, so Tony must have wandered to the kitchen. He sends another fond look at Bruce and before moving away from the door, and into the kitchen, somehow slipping past Natasha without waking her. She must be truly worn out if both he and Tony made it past her stellar radar tonight.

Bucky hesitantly steps through the threshold, a little worried that he was wrong when he sees there is no light on, but that worry is dispelled when he sees Tony standing by the kitchen window, gazing out at the falling snow. The moonlight illuminates the genius' face perfectly and Bucky can see tears shining on the younger man's cheeks, his whole body trembling slightly. Bucky feels himself freeze up, and he is very much a deer in the headlights at this moment. He really, _really,_ isn't good with emotions. Maybe he should go get someone else…. He starts to turn around, but then stops, and steels himself. Tony is going to be one of them, and the kid just had an extremely crappy night. The least Bucky can do is try and comfort him.

"Tony?" He whispers cautiously, and Tony jerks and spins around, fear flashing bright in his eyes. Bucky mentally curses himself, what the hell is he thinking sneaking up on someone who has been abused for years? Stupid on so many levels, Natasha would have his head if she knew.

Tony sees Bucky and the fear vanishes, but his expression remains guarded and he quickly dries his tears.

"Bucky? What are you doing up?" He questions nervously, and wraps his arms around himself in what seems a practiced expression of discomfort. Bucky wonders how many people, if any, have ever taken the time to learn things about the genius boy like that. Does anyone know him well enough to read simple things about him? Or has he truly been alone even more than it already seemed?

"Heard you get up, though I must admit for an injured guy you have pretty light feet." Bucky tries to make his tone lighter, but fails miserably, and Tony obviously agrees because he just smiles weakly and nods in thanks. "Well I'm alright. You can go back to sleep, and don't get mad at Bruce for passing out, I wasn't ready to sleep yet and I told him I'd keep watch until I was tried. Promised I'd wake him up when I went to sleep." Tony says, his eyes lightening a little at the mention of Bruce. Natasha was right about them being close already. They seemed to have latched onto each other absurdly quickly. That worries him a little, because while he feels for Tony, they don't know him yet, and there's no guarantee he will stay with them long term. He doesn't want Bruce getting too attached only to have this guy leave as quick as he came.

"I don't think I could muster up anger for Bruce no matter what." Bucky says honestly, and that gets him a real smile. Tony leans back onto the corner of the wall near the window, and Bucky moves towards him, sitting on top of the table and making it very clear he isn't going anywhere. He committed to this and now he will see it through.

"So why you are still awake?" He says softly, sincerely, and he sees Tony tense a little, the walls flying up fast around him, the same way they have whenever any one of them has asked anything remotely personal about the genius. He stares at Bucky for a moment, calculating, probably running through a million different answers in his head before seeming to decide on the truth.

"I'm scared if I go to sleep, I'll see him. You all say you want to help me get away, but I can't accept it. You'll get annoyed, get tired of me and dump me on the street for him to find. I'm never going to get away from him. He'll torment me as long as I live." Tony whispers gravelly, his voice shaking a little, and he feels more vulnerable than ever. Bucky senses the deeper meaning to the "as long as I live" bit and it bothers him deeply, ringing familiar with a broken piece of himself he hasn't examined in years. He'll have to talk to Steve about that, Natasha too. He thinks that Tony is in a worse headspace then he originally thought.

"Tony, look it's true that we don't know you. You have no reason to trust us, much less than we have to trust you, and I understand that, But I swear to you even if you travelling with us didn't work for some reason, which I highly doubt, we would never leave you for him to find. Ever. If for any reason you had to leave, we would find you somewhere safe. It's the least we can do for you at least saving Clint and Natasha's lives, if not all of ours. But Tony, we aren't going to just get irritated and tell you to get lost. It doesn't work like that. Hell if it did we would have left Loki on the street a long time ago. My point is that you're one of us now, and we don't leave people behind. "Bucky pours as much honesty and reassurance into his voice as possible, and Tony watches him carefully, hope starting to blossom in his dark brown eyes.

"He was going to kill me tonight, and he almost killed Natasha when she stood in the way. I don't want him going after any of you for protecting me." Tony says softly, pulling a complete one eighty, and Bucky can just see a future of this kid spinning his head in circles.

"We can more than take care of ourselves, I promise you that. " He says smirking, thinking of that time he saw Natasha kill a man with her thighs. Tony raises an eyebrow, clearly not getting the joke, then sighs in defeat.

"Alright, just remember I tried to warn you." The other teens sighs, defeated. Bucky grins widely in triumph, surprising himself. He doesn't really smile a lot anymore, yet the past few days it's come easier to him. "I'll keep that in mind. Now how about we go get some sleep, and I'll wake Loki up for his watch. He's a real delight when he wakes up, very sleeping beauty like."

_**~I'm not really crazy about this chapter, but here it is. **_


	8. Chapter 8

Loki watches Stark as he fiddles with something on his tablet, a look of concentration, and probably pain evident in his features.

The raven haired teen can see Stark is suffering from his injuries, and yet apparently he still believes fooling around on his tablet, working Loki assumes, is a good idea. Loki would bet half the money Stark Industries makes comes from inventions the younger Stark came up with. Howard Stark seemed the type to tell his son he had to earn his keep, and the boy probably thinks he has to do the same with them, despite his injuries. Excellent, Loki muses, another stubborn twit without self-preservation, as if Barton and Barnes aren't bad enough. Well at least he should provide some entertainment when Rogers gets to work; Steve is a notorious mother hen, and a guy like Stark is Catnip to him.

Stark is actually quite interesting himself. Not at all like Loki would have expected, and he really hates being wrong, as rare as that is. Any normal man in his situation would have left their ragtag team of misfits out in the cold to freeze to death, yet Tony took them in. Especially because of the danger it put him in from them, and his father. Howard Stark seems to be quite on the same level of hellish as Odin was, and Loki knows he wouldn't have crossed the old man for anyone, much less a bunch of dangerous strangers.

"What are you working on Tony?" Loki says neutrally. He really doesn't like being on a first name basis with someone he just met, but Tony has seemed to have a strong reaction to being referred to by his last name, which after yesterday's episode makes a lot more sense.

Daddy issues are definitely something Loki can relate to.

"Huh? Uh Loki right? I'm working on getting you all a new place to stay, and setting up an account with some emergency money." He says nervously, as if Loki will yell at him. A reasonable fear, Loki can grudgingly admit, they are strangers even if they have offered to take him with them.

"Yes I am Loki. That's interesting S-Tony. How exactly are you managing this? Though I do believe you meant to say _us_." Loki stresses the last word, watching Tony's reaction. If the genius is having second thoughts about leaving this hellhole with them, Loki had to inform Natasha. She really prefers time to plan a kidnapping before the day it happens.

"Oh um," Tony blushes and scratches his head awkwardly, "Yeah. Of course." He flinches, apparently aggravating one of his many injuries and Loki represses the urge to smack him and tell him to remain still. "Well you see my mother was rich on her own, and she left that money to me despite my father's wealth. It isn't supposed to be available until I'm 18, but I hacked the system. I'm using the money under a fake identity to buy us a safe house, some transportation and food. The rest I'm putting into a couple new accounts so well covered my father won't be able to find them if he tries."

Loki blinks, impressed. Natasha was right again, Tony will be useful.

"Impressive." He allows, and Tony smiles softly at him. Ah, he's going to get all puppy-like at praise. Wonderful, those are hard to stay impartial too. Barnes and Barton he can lovingly detest because of their obnoxious behavior, but another Bruce-level-adorable personality and all of these supposedly hardened criminals will go soft within the year.

"Not usually the context people use that word around me for, but I'll take it." Tony smirks weakly, and Loki grins. Perhaps the rich boy has snark after all. "Ah I can't seem to see any other context it would be used." Loki retorts, and the other teen rewards him with a real grin, and Loki likes the mischief he sees there. He has a feeling he and Stark will get along just fine.

"Tony?" Bruce calls softly as he steps into the main room. His hair is mussed and his eyes are sleep fogged over from sleep, but the way he's blushing sheepishly Loki can tell the boy is aware he fell asleep on the job. Usually Loki would take this opportunity to point it out, but nearly heartless or not he isn't aware of a soul on this earth that can resist those big sleepy eyes of Bruce's. Honestly once he becomes self-aware of that little gift they're all magnificently screwed. The boy already has every one of them wrapped around his little finger, even Stark, and he's barley begun to know him.

He always told Thor that Banner was dangerous.

"Tony? I'm so sorry; did you try and wake me up? You weren't awake too long were you? You should be resting oh I'm so sorry." Bruce babbles and before Loki has the chance to point out Stark merely had to wake Bruce, and that it is in no way is fault, Tony is very inadvisably out of the bed and crossing the room to Bruce, tablet discarded.

"Hey Brucey, don't you start apologizing on me now, I told you I would wake you up and I didn't. I couldn't sleep, and I didn't see any reason you shouldn't sleep if I couldn't. Don't worry about it alright, you didn't do anything wrong, no one's angry. Now, what do you say we go back to the lab? It's already been cleaned and I can put down the emergency lock so my dad can't get in. What do you say?" Tony smiles at the shorter boy brightly and Bruce manages to give a soft one in return. "A-Are you sure? A-aren't you hurt?" Bruce whispers and Loki is about to agree with the boy when Stark shoots him a glare.

Loki raises an eyebrow, amused and slightly impressed, Stark must be a quick learner if he can already guess what Loki was about to say, not to mention be gutsy enough to stop him. Tony is a genius after all, he has to be aware how dangerous they are, and Loki would bet he appears more unstable than the rest of the group.

"Hurt- Smurt. I'm fine Bruce, I promise. I've worked with way worse. Now come on, you can help me put the finishing touches on my AI system." Tony smiles charmingly again and this time Bruce gives, letting himself be pulled away. Loki sighs in irritation and rises from his perch at the end of the bed, to get up and go tell one of the others where Tony and Bruce have gone off to; he's positive Steve will want someone in there to guard them.

"Don't bother." A voice sounds from the doorway, and Loki's head whips around to see Steve leaning against the kitchen entryway, his arms crossed and eyes thoughtful as he stares at the door from which Tony and Bruce just disappeared, no doubt regretting they unblocked it this morning.

Loki sits back down, watching their leader curiously. "Penny for your thoughts?" He says it coolly, as if he's just forcing himself to socialize-which to be fair is often the case- but Steve gives him a look that makes it clear he's aware what Loki is after.

"He…..isn't what I thought he'd be." Steve says slowly and Loki snorts. "Well thank the heavens for that. Don't think too hard on it Rogers, you can never trust how things appear. Much like your menacing figure, when on the inside you're the teddy bear we all know and love." Loki says sarcastically, but Steve ignores his teasing and nods thoughtfully.

"Yeah I guess you're right." Steve admits and looks back at the door. "I'm going to go keep an eye on them to make sure Tony doesn't hurt himself anymore, and that Bruce is staying safe."

Loki lays back on the bed, shooing Steve off and signaling his boredom. "Yes, Yes, Get to it Captain I have sleep to catch up on. We are currently in the home of a billionaire I would very much like to enjoy the commendations, such as plush mattresses, while I'm here. "

Loki swears he can hear Steve's eyes rolling, that sassy bastard, as the blonde slips out the door after the two geniuses.

_**Sorry I haven't been posting very often guys, classes have started up again and I'm swamped with homework, but I'll update when I can. Love y'all. Hope you enjoy.**_


	9. Alert

Hi guys, I'm sorry my fics have been slow, I've been really caught up in classes and writing a new original story.

198517715-the-space-squad-meet-and-greet

There's the link if you want to read it, I'm just now putting some up. I will try and update soon, but please don't expect regular updates on anything because my schedule is too sporadic. Sorry guys.


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